Juniper, Dell, Brocade, Alcatel-Lucent: SDN Strategies

Part 3 in our series comparing vendors' SDN approaches.

In my last post in this continuing series on vendors' SDN strategies, I looked at SDN products from Cisco, Arista, and HP. In this blog post, I will examine the various ways Juniper, Dell, Brocade, and Alcatel-Lucent/Nuage approach software-defined networking.

Juniper
Juniper's SDN strategy isn't built on OpenFlow, but rather uses a mix of its network management software (Junos Space) and the Contrail network overlay controller that it acquired in late 2012 and open sourced last fall. Its overlay approach is similar to VMware's NSX and other virtual networks that are built using tunneling protocols over TCP/IP.

Like Arista, Juniper touts the programmability of its hardware, specifically the MX edge routers and EX and QFX series switches, with open APIs providing the means to automate network management, configuration, and control. By open sourcing Contrail, it appears Juniper would rather focus on providing application-layer network services and orchestration for its legacy switching fabrics than centralized physical layer flow control.

Kurt Marko is an InformationWeek and Network Computing contributor and IT industry veteran, pursuing his passion for communications after a varied career that has spanned virtually the entire high-tech food chain from chips to systems. Upon graduating from Stanford University ... View Full Bio

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